Diagnosing and prescribing by nurses in different health care settings

Diagnosing and prescribing by nurses is expedient given the context of Cameroon which has severe economic constraints, acute shortages of doctors and varying demographic, epidemiological and socio-cultural factors. There is scarcity of research on diagnosing and prescribing by nurses in developing countries where a majority of the world‘s population live. This study examined the extent to which nurses diagnose and prescribe and explored the perceptions of key stakeholders on factors affecting diagnosing and prescribing by nurses in different health care settings. Nurses diagnose and prescribe in all health care settings in Cameroon. However, the extent to which they do so depended on level of resources, and influence of different key stakeholders. Diagnosing and prescribing by nurses have the potential to enhance accessibility to care and maximise the use of limited resources. There is evidence of good practice by nurses during patient consultation. On the other hand, some patients reported consultations with nurses which were perceived to lack compassion and care. All key stakeholders felt that some nurses were overstepping their professional boundaries and carried out patient consultation which they are not adequately trained for, potentially putting patient‘s health at risk.